Leading African airline, the South African Airways (SAA) has launched its new aircraft on the Lagos-Johannesburg route even as the sector continue to face the intricacies of harsh operating environment deepened by forex crisis and aviation fuel crisis.
According to the Regional Manager, North, West and Central Africa of South African Airways, Ohis Ehimiaghe, the A330-300 is one of the five state-of-the-art environmental friendly and comfortable aircraft that the airline has acquired to improve its service offerings for its Nigerian passengers.
Explaining more on the new aircraft, he said “We are not reducing capacity or pulling out because we believe Nigerians deserve the better. So, we want our Nigerian passengers to enjoy the feel of our new aircraft”.
“It has been a tough time for airlines in the country but South African Airways believes in the Nigerian market.”
“There is scarcity of aviation fuel and the priority has never been on aviation fuel but on the Premium Motor Spirit. We get it at a premium here, or go to Ghana; but unfortunately, Ghana is running dry of the commodity,” he said.
He revealed that as a way of beating the Jet A1 challenge, the airline’s Abuja flights had resorted to flying to Libreville, Gabon to get aviation fuel even though the process is cutting off about 30 per cent of their revenues.
